Pacific Catch offers the bustling intimacy of a coffee shop, the speed and value of a short-order grill and the top-quality ingredients usually found at far fancier places. Open since April, it's a welcome addition to San Francisco's Marina district.

The smartly edited menu revolves around a handful of major players -- salmon, ahi tuna, shrimp and mahi mahi -- that appear in various presentations from tacos to teriyaki, meal-size salads to hearty sandwiches.

Eclectic combos

Asian and Mexican flavors predominate, but are blended together so smoothly it seems only natural to move from a Baja fish taco to a wasabi- spiked salad topped with Hawaiian poke and then on to an assortment of mochi ice cream served with warm chocolate sauce.

Informality is the hallmark of the restaurant and the menu, but that doesn't mean simple or sloppy food. The rice bowls and salads, for example, are intricate constructions offering a sophisticated balance of textures, colors, flavors and temperatures.

The "wasabi" rice bowl ($10.95 for ahi tuna, ahi poke or salmon) features a generous portion of seasoned sushi rice topped with a variety of cold vegetables and the fish of your choice hot off the grill.

Long-time special

A rice bowl topped with unagi ($11.95) is a long-standing special. The meaty, smoky flavor of the grilled eel works particularly well with the garnishes of cucumber-wakame salad, buttery slices of avocado, daikon sprouts, thin petals of pickled ginger, sesame seeds and crisp matchstick threads of toasted nori. Holding it all together is a zingy soy-wasabi dressing.

Starters include Hawaiian poke ($6.95), chopped ahi tuna mixed with chopped Bermuda onion, sesame oil and seasoning. The tuna is extremely fresh, yet it sports a slightly funky quality from the toasted oil and the spices. The color is deep red, the texture meaty; this is not the everyday, ho-hum, forgettable tuna so many places dish up. Too bad the same thing can't be said for the skewered coconut shrimp ($6.50), which were typical pub fare.

Satisfying seaweed

Far more satisfying is wakame salad ($3.95), a vivid, dark green tangle of julienned seaweed arrayed a mound of sliced cucumbers in a light lemony dressing.

Tokyo salmon ($9.95) gives an Asian slant to traditional fish and chips via the dipping sauces -- a ginger-wasabi aioli and a lemon ponzu. The pieces of battered, browned salmon are large and sturdy, totally in keeping with salmon's natural assertiveness.

Diners can choose from four different tacos made with white corn tortillas or get a combo plate ($7.95) with any two tacos and a side of sweet potato fries. As with the Asian-inspired dishes, the tacos offer a variety of ingredients, flavors and textures. The "tropical" shrimp taco ($3.25) pairs grilled shrimp with pineapple salsa, lime crema and shredded cabbage -- messy, but fun to eat. The Baja taco ($2.95), with a crusty deep-fried nugget of the fish of the day garnished with an avocado-tomatillo salsa, jalapeno crema and shredded cabbage, is quite good.

Sweet potato fries ($2.95 side/$3.95 basket) go with a number of the dishes. The fries cook up dark and hefty, with a deep caramelized flavor.

Pacific Catch grills thick, square rolls from Il Fornaio for its sandwiches. I love the ahi tuna sandwich ($8.95), grilled to a deep, rosy pink and layered with sliced avocado, salad greens and a plucky ginger-wasabi mayonnaise, and paired with cilantro-flecked coleslaw.

Desserts are uneven. On first try, the mochi fondue ($4.50) was disappointing. The wedges of vanilla, chocolate and coffee mochi ice cream were stale, hard and crystalline under the lukewarm chocolate dipping sauce.

The tapioca creme brulee ($4.95) was worse, with a mild custard topping a gelatinous layer of tapioca starch. The custard's top was barely colored and what is supposed to be a caramelized sugar crust extending from one side of the dish to the other was a wafer-sized splotch of melted sugar.

On a repeat visit, both desserts were much better, although the creme brulee still needed a crackling browned crust.

I can't grumble too much, given the quality and price. The variety found at Pacific Catch is all the more impressive considering how small it is.

Most of the cooking takes place in a space tinier than most apartment kitchens -- and in full view of diners seated at the long counter, which runs the length of the long, narrow space. There's more elbow room at the counter than at the tight knot of six tables by the front door. There are also two small cafe tables on the sidewalk.

Despite tight quarters and the steady press of hungry customers, the staff remains spirited and friendly. Pacific Catch is deliciously worth a visit.

OVERALL: TWO AND A HALF STARS
Food: TWO AND A HALF STARS
Service: TWO AND A HALF STARS
Atmosphere: ONE AND A HALF STARS
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PRICES: $
NOISE RATING: THREE BELLS
Pluses: Deliciously intricate rice bowls and meal-sized salads are
affordably priced. Decent tacos, too.
Minuses: The quality of the desserts can vary from visit to visit. Very
tight dining space.
RATINGS KEY
FOUR STARS: Extraordinary
THREE STARS: Excellent
TWO STARS: Good
ONE STAR: Fair
(box): Poor
.
$ Inexpensive: entrees under $10
$$ Moderate: $10-$17
$$$ Expensive: $18-$24
$$$$ Very Expensive: more than $25
Prices based on main courses. When entrees fall between these categories,
the prices of appetizers help determine the dollar ratings.
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ONE BELL: Pleasantly quiet (under 65 decibels)
TWO BELLS: Can talk easily (65-70)
THREE BELLS: Talking normally gets difficult (70-75)
FOUR BELLS: Can only talk in raised voices (75-80)
BOMB: Too noisy for normal conversation (80+)
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Chronicle critics make every attempt to remain anonymous.
All meals are paid for by the Chronicle.
Star ratings are based on a minimum of three visits.
Ratings are updated continually based on a least one revisit.